Renowned Italian daily Corriere della Sera revealed this morning that the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, which is controlled by Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, had started negotiations with Milan to take over a 40 per cent stake in the Italian club.

It was reported that Sheikh Mansour was prepared to throw his financial weight around to get his hands on one of the most prestigious sides in world football and Marina Belusconi, the president of Milan’s parent company, Fininvest, had given the green light to the takeover.

But the Diavoli have now issued an official statement on their website to deny that there are any negotiations in place.

“With regards to the reports printed in the Corriere della Sera this morning about a potential selling off of stakes in the club, Fininvest and AC Milan [wish to] communicate that there is no truth in the news,” reads the statement.

Silvio Berlusconi took over Milan in February 1986 and the Rossoneri have won 7 Scudetti, a Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana, five Champions League trophies, five European Super Cups and have been crowned World Champions on three occasions during his tenure.